Fish, Plant, Rack creates a real circuit with concrete inputs and outputs across multiple lifeworlds; where none of the actors recognise the other but each acts on its own limited input. The circuit flows; fish - electrical impulses - robot - nutrients - plant - video - fish. For the robot, the fish is a signal, a stream of clicks and pulses; for the fish, the plants are a video image. The mediated network that links the individual members of the ecology add up to something more mysterious, a complex that finds a way to function, each individual becomes a part in a new whole. The media that circulates them maintains the form of data or stimulus rather than form or content. As of this moment it has not been possible to exhibit fish, plant, rack in its intended state - with a live elephant nose fish - gallery conditions having made it impossible. In its current state the piece functions with a random access video and audio recording of the fish used to build and test the piece in the hostprods studio. As usual the software hub of the installation is built with max/msp/jitter with the original java version of Brian Lee Yung Rowe's Dharmai AI application running in the background. The robot is a lightweight construction with a polycarbonate body and a low geared DC motor and 4 standard servo motors. An OOPic-R microcontroller mounted on the back received the calls from the AI and sequences out the actions of the device. Hostprods is once again indebted to Gary Burns for assistance with the electronics involved in this project. exhibition
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